HIDDEN GALLERY

HIDDEN GALLERY

January 2017

Six street artists from across Tasmania descended on Devonport during Tidal Festival (23-29 January 2017) to create six new small artworks for the Hidden Gallery project! New works were installed in hidden and unsuspected locations around the Devonport CBD across the first two days of the Festival.

Viewers are encouraged to pick up a map from one of the venues involved, or download it to discover each work by the Hidden Gallery artists.

Estuary fisheries in Tasmania supply the local, national and international markets for world class Atlantic Salmon. The economic benefit to the state is undeniable. Recent studies have shown that this practice is adversely affecting our waterways and ecosystems. At what local price do we pay for supplying the global demand? This consumption is affecting our tidal waters.

Ben Miller is an artist, educator, Gallery Director and musician. He has been doing commissioned and un commissioned works for over twenty years exhibiting statewide, nationally with both group and solo shows and is represented by Gallery Pejean and AntilArt. A finalist in the Glover Prize, LLoyd Rees art Prize and Bay Of Fires Art Prize et al, Miller's work often explores an ambivalence towards environmentalism and industrialisation.!

The tide never stops. Constantly rising and falling. Coming in and going out. Some people's lives depend on the tide, while others may go their entire existence without acknowledging it. It will complete different stages of its progression at different times, every day. No two days are the same for the tide. It can-not be tamed or trained. It is as wild as anything can be, yet it can be predicted years in advance.

Beach Tide is based on an abstracted re-creation of the 'wave theory' my dad used to explain the tide to me when I was young. Drawing down the daily high and low points of the tide, and how it flowed, day-to-day, seamlessly.

The colour palette is a minimal representation of where the tide exists where most people interact with it. The meeting point of the ocean and the land. The water and the sand. This, mixed with the negative space of black which stands for the time taken for the tide to complete a full cycle, leaves the visual boundaries of my work open ended and allows it to be viewed as a work that can be repeated on and on, to infinity, never ending. Much like the tide itself.

Artist: Tara FeltsVenue: Total Performance Sports, 11 Best Street

Fill Me Up With Hope

All the things we know we should be doing.New Years goals and resolutions.Empty promises to ourselves.

Through the work I celebrate and fondly remember the magic and promise of a well made sandcastle . Using paste up as medium reflects the ephemeral nature of the humble sandcastle as each shall eventually change and decay at the hand of the elements.

Brain Foetus is a Fremantle native now living and working in Hobart, Tasmania. Exhibiting extensively both state wide and nationally, the young artist has developed a recognisable style that is at home on a grimy Alley way as in a gallery environment. BF was represented by Despard Gallery from 2014-2016 but has now returned to her roots as a street artist, taking a step away from the commercial circuit.

This piece is a homage to the great Miles Davis and the jazz movement that was constantly flowing largely unnoticed by popular culture during the 30's 40's and 50's.

Artist: Tom O’HernVenue: Red Hot Music (rear), Rooke Lane

The ocean doesn't want me

At first mermaids were a celebrated sight when they first appeared in the mouth of the Mersey. However as an introduced species with no natural predator in these Southern waters, their impact on local marine life has been incredibly detrimental. Local fishermen, recognising the mermaids are here to stay, have seized on the opportunity and begun farming the mermaids. Today the region has become synonymous with the prized delicacy.

Tom O'Hern lives and works on top of a big hill in Hobart. He has shown widely across Australia and is represented by Bett Gallery.

#hiddengallerydevonport

The project has been organised by the Devonport Regional Gallery and Devonport City Council with venue owners and street artists. Coinciding with the Tidal Festival (23-29 January), each artist has had to respond to the theme of ‘tidal’ in their work.